Abstract- This paper throws light on the
The camshaft later appeared in
various aspects of camshaft, its
orientations, manufacturing process,
materials used for manufacture, causes of
failure, uses, etc, for passenger cars.
Index Terms- cam, camshaft,
manufacture, automotive.
Introduction
Camshaft- A shaft to which a cam is
fastened or of which a cam forms an
integral part.
Cam- A projection on a rotating part in a
machinery, designed to make sliding
contact with another part while rotating
and to impart reciprocal or variable motion
to it. They are used to convert rotary
motion to reciprocating motion.
Running along the shaft are lobes which
are manufactured to sit at different angles.
These lobes are positioned in such a way
that – when the camshaft is rotated – they
come into contact with rocker arms that
then open the engine valves. The lobes
themselves are egg-shaped, with the
‘pointy’ end contacting the rocker arms,
opening the valves at specific times within
the engine cycle. This allows the air/fuel
mixture to enter the cylinder and then the
exhaust gases to leave the cylinder at the
required time.
Camshafts are not always used in
continuous rotation (360 degrees) in some
applications. Some barely rotate 90
degrees. And they are usually connected at
perpendicular angles relative to itself
either through mechanical linkages or
mating surfaces.
HISTORY
The camshaft was first described
in Turkey (Diyarbakır) by Al-Jazari in
1206 AD. He employed it as part of his
automata, water-raising machines,
and water clocks such as the castle
clock.
European mechanisms from the 14th
century.
Among the first cars to utilize engines with
single overhead camshafts were the
Maudslay designed by Alexander Craig
and introduced in 1902 and the Marr Auto
Car designed by Michigan native Walter
Lorenzo Marr in 1903.
Anatomy
There are five basic segments of a
camshaft: lifter lobes, bearing journals,
gear mount, distributor gear or timing lug,
and fuel pump lobe. Not all cams have all
five, but they will all have the first three.
The bearing journals are the surfaces that
the cam rides on inside the engine block.
The cam bearings are installed in the block
journals, and feed oil to the cam, keeping it
lubed and spinning. The cam gear mount is
where the timing gear bolts to the
camshaft. This is how the cam is driven
inside the engine. This is usually part of
how the cam is secured in the block as
well. The lifter lobes are where the magic
happens. This is what drives the lifters,
which operate the valves to allow the
air/fuel mix in and the combustion gases
out in the right sequence. The other
segments are there for a mechanical fuel
pump and distributor or cam sensor.
FUNCTION OF CAMSAHFT
The camshaft is the unit of an internal
combustion engine that has the duty of
opening and closing the valves. Working
in conjunction with the crankshaft, the
camshaft spins at half the speed of the
crankshaft in a 4-stroke engine cycle and
at the same speed in a 2-stroke engine.

4-Stroke Engine Cycle

The four cycles of a 4-stroke engine are

intake, compression, power and exhaust.
The crankshaft turns once for each of these
steps while the camshaft does it twice. The
smooth working of an engine needs
precision parts and timing of the parts.
There are several cams linked to one or Roller cams-
more camshafts–one controlling the intake
Roller Cams use a lifter with a roller on it.
valve and another exhaust valve–for each
The roller cam looks like the flat tappet
piston. The intake valve is opened by the
cam, but the cam lobes are very different.
rotating cam as the crankshaft pulls the
Roller cams have fatter lobes because of
piston down. At the compression level, the
the way the cam lobe contacts the lifter.
intake valve is closed while the piston is
Roller lifters reduce friction, increase RPM
pushed back up. The fuel and air mixture
potential and allow higher valve spring
ignites as the piston goes downward again.
pressures to be used.
Lastly, as the piston is pushed back up the
cylinder, the exhaust valve is opened by
the turning the cam to release the by-
ORIENTATIONS OF CAMSHAFT
product of the explosion.
Overhead camshaft, commonly
abbreviated to OHC, is a valve-
A properly working engine needs precise train configuration which places
timing between the rotation of the the camshaft of an internal combustion
camshaft and crankshaft. The cams linked engine of the reciprocating type within
to the camshaft are instrumental in the the cylinder heads ("above"
harmonious opening and closing of the the pistons and combustion chambers) and
valves that gives an engine with its power. drives the valves or lifters in a more direct
manner compared with overhead
TYPES OF CAMSHAFTS valves (OHV) and pushrods.
There are two major types of camshafts-

i) Flat Tappet

ii) Roller Cams

Flat tappet-

Flat Tappet (lifters) are in most V8's and

literally have what looks like a flat bottom
where the cam lobe contacts the tappet
(lifter). Lifters are not actually flat on the
contact surface. They do have a slight
curve, but it's hard to see.

They are generally found in two

orientations:
SOHC (Single Over-Head Cam)
Single overhead camshaft (SOHC) is a
design in which one camshaft is placed
within the cylinder head.[1] In an inline
engine, this means there is one camshaft in
the head, whilst in an engine with more
than one cylinder head, such as a V
engine or a horizontally-opposed engine
(boxer; flat engine) – there are two
camshafts, one per cylinder bank.
In the SOHC design, the camshaft operates
the valves directly, traditionally via a
bucket tappet; or via an
intermediary rocker arm, SOHC cylinder
heads are generally less expensive to
manufacture than double overhead
camshaft (DOHC) cylinder heads. Timing
belt replacement can be easier since there
are fewer camshaft drive sprockets that
need to be aligned during the replacement
procedure.
SOHC designs offer reduced complexity
compared with overhead valve designs
when used for multivalve cylinder heads,
in which each cylinder has more than two
valves. An example of an SOHC design
using shim and bucket valve adjustment
was the engine installed in the Hillman
Imp (four cylinder, eight valve), a small,
early-1960s two-door saloon car (sedan)
with a rear-mounted aluminium-alloy
engine based on the Coventry Climax
FWMA race engines. Exhaust and inlet
manifolds were both on the same side of
the engine block (thus not a crossflow
cylinder head design). This did, however,
offer excellent access to the spark plugs.
DOHC (Dual Over-Head Cam)
A dual overhead camshaft (DOHC) valve-
train layout is characterised by
two camshafts located within the cylinder
head, one operating the intake valves and
the other one operating the exhaust valves.
This design reduces valve-train inertia
more than is the case with an SOHC
engine, since the rocker arms are reduced
in size or eliminated. A DOHC design
permits a wider angle between intake and
exhaust valves than in SOHC engines.
This can give a less restricted airflow at
higher engine speeds. DOHC with
a multivalve design also allows for the
optimum placement of the spark plug,
which in turn improves combustion
efficiency. Engines having more than
one bank of cylinders (e.g. V6, V8 – where
two cylinder banks meet to form a "V")
with two camshafts in total remain SOHC
unless each cylinder bank has two
camshafts; the latter are DOHC, and are
often known as "quad cam".
MOTION OF THE CAM
When the cam turns through one motion
cycle, the follower executes a series of
events consisting of rises, dwells and
returns. Rise is the motion of the follower
away from the cam center, dwell is the
motion during which the follower is at
rest; and return is the motion of the
follower toward the cam center.
Lift: Lobe lift is the distance the lifter
moves in one direction. In other words,
lobe lift is the difference in measurement
between the nose of the lobe and the base
circle of the lobe.

MATERIAL OF CAMSHAFT
Camshaft material is the most important
detail in stopping premature wear of
performance camshafts. There are various
materials that camshafts are manufactured
from:-
CAST IRONS
1). HARDENABLE IRON: This is Grade
17 cast iron with an addition of 1% chrome
to create 5 to 7% free carbide. After
casting, the material is flame/or induction
hardened, to give a Rockwell hardness of
52 to 56 on the C Scale. It is not the most
suitable material for performance
camshafts in overhead cam (OHC)
engines.
2.) SPHEROIDAL GRAPHITE CAST
IRON KNOWN AS SG IRON: A material
giving similar characteristics to
hardenable. Its failing as a camshaft
material is hardness in its cast form, which
tends to scuff bearings in adverse
conditions. The material will heat treat to
52 to 58 RockwellC. This material was
used by Fiat in the 1980’s
3.) CHILLED CHROME CAST IRON:
Chilled iron is Grade 17 cast iron with 1%
chrome. When the camshaft is cast in the
foundry, machined steel moulds the shape
of the cam lobe are incorporated in the
mould. When the iron is poured, it hardens
off very quickly (known as chilling),
causing the cam lobe material to form a
matrix of carbide (this material will cut
glass) on the cam lobe. This material is
exceedingly scuff-resistant and is the only
material for producing quantity OHC
performance camshafts.
CONCLUSION OF CAST CAMSHAFTS:
When purchasing a camshaft, enquire
which material the camshafts are produced
from. A chilled iron camshaft may be more
expensive, but its resistance to wear in all
conditions, far exceeds any other type of
cast iron.
STEEL CAMSHAFTS
1. CARBON STEEL – EN8 (BS970
080M40) /EN99(BS970 070M55): Used
mainly in the 1930 to 1945 period and is
currently used for induction hardened
camshafts in conjunction with roller cam
followers, due to the through-hardening
characteristics of the material.
2. ALLOYED STEELS – EN351 AISI
8620 and EN34: Used by British Leyland
in the A Series and B Series engine and
best when run against a chilled cam
follower.
3. NITRIDING STEEL – EN40B: The
best steel for camshafts. When nitrided it
gives a surface hardness and finish similar
to chilled iron.We used this when
replacing chilled iron camshafts in
competition engines. This material is used
on several of the current F1 engines.
CONCLUSION -in general, steel is a good
camshaft material. However, the type of
steel has to be matched with the cam
follower it runs against, as different grades
of steel have different scuff characteristics.
METHODS OF MANUFACTURE
1. CASTING:
Chilled cast iron is primarily used for
production of cam shaft. The development
of automobile industry and engine power
 excess material which from metal billet. In
this process only machining is required to
manufacture CAM.

A detailed description of the processes for

mass manufacturing is as follows:

1.TURNING & DRILLING: The raw

forging is put in this machine and center
brings up more advance requirement for drilling and turning on one side is done
properties of camshaft. In casting process, here.
there are more chances of casting defects
such as shrinkage defect, porosity, crack,
insufficient pouring. However for higher
loads in roller contact, cast camshafts with
induction hardened cam lobes can be used.

2. FORGING:

Forged or manufactured from a steel bar

camshafts are also used for certain high
loaded diesel engines. These are produced
on computer-controlled forging systems
with integrated heat treatment or machined
from steel bar.
3. MACHINING: Machining is necessary for
giving final dimension to the cam.
2. TURNING: Here the turning of the 6
journals takes place. There are 4 tools used
for this turning – Rough, Neutral, Left and
Right tool. Also, Grooving and Parting
operation is performed on the left side of
the shaft.

3. DRILLING: This machine drills the

diameter 4.5 dowel hole which is used as
reference for further operations.

4. GRINDING JOURNALS: Here

grinding and finish grinding of the 6
journals takes place. Carborundum wheels
are used for grinding.

A. While using Casted or Forged CAM only

Final Machining is require to achieve final
size within the required tolerances. In this
process casted or forged CAM are in the
required shape but their size is maintained
by machining and finishing operation.

B. While Using Metal Billet (metal rod), the

profile of cam is obtained by removing
5. GRINDING ON FACE: An angular
grinding wheel is used for the face
grinding operation. At this stage,
inspection is done after every 10
components using gauges.
6. DRILL DOVEL HOLE: Grinding of the
Cam is done here. The dowel hole is taken
as the reference.
7. LAPPING: To give superfinish in
microns, lapping is done using lapping
paper on the Cams and the Oil seal area
8. SLITTING: This machine makes a slit
in the right side of the shaft to fit in the
engine. The cutter used is a Saw cutter and
pneumatic deburring is done here.
9. AIR & WATER CLEANING: This is
the Washing Machine where water and air
jets are used to clean the component of
dust, oil, chips etc.
10. INSPECTION: This is a Measuring
Machine used to check for tolerances -
Runouts and Diameters of journals ( all 6
and center 4). The machine then declares
the component as OK, NG, or BAD.
CAUSES OF FAILURE
common causes of camshaft failure:
1. Lobe wear
Lobe wear is often caused by improper
lubrication during installation.
Only the manufacturer recommended
lubricant, which is generally included with
the cam should be used. This lubricant
must be applied to every cam lobe surface,
and to the bottom of every lifter face of all
flat tappet cams. Roller tappet cams only
require engine oil to be applied to the
lifters and cam.
2. Improper Break-In
After the correct break-in lubricant is
applied to the cam and lifters, fill the
crankcase with fresh, non-synthetic oil.
Use motor oil with an engine break-in
additive (ZDDP or ZINC camshaft
additive), especially with flat
tappet camshafts.
Prime the oil system with a priming tool
and an electric drill so that all oil passages
and the oil filter are full. Preset the ignition
timing and prime the fuel system. Fill the
cooling system. Start the engine, run it
between 1,500 and 3,000 rpm, varying the
rpm up and down in this range for 20
minutes. During break-in, verify that the
pushrods are rotating, as this will show
that the lifters are also rotating. If the
lifters don’t rotate, the cam lobe and lifter
will fail. Sometimes you may need to help
spin the pushrod to start the rotation
process.
3. Old Lifters with a New Cam
One can use new lifters on a good used
cam, but never pair used lifters with a new
cam.
If you are removing a good used flat
tappet cam and lifters and are planning to
use them again in the same (or another)
engine, you must keep the lifters in the
order they were removed from the cam
they were on. Lifters “mate” to their
specific lobes and can’t be changed. If the
used lifters get mixed up, discard them,
install a new set of lifters, and break in the
cam again.
4. Incorrect Valve Spring Pressure
 Never install valve springs without
verifying the correct assembled height and
pressures. Recommended valve spring
pressures are as follows:
 Street-type flat tappet cams: 85-105
pounds
 Radical street flat tappet cams: 105-130
pounds
 Street-type hydraulic roller cams: 105-
140 pounds
 Mechanical street roller cams: no more
than 150 pounds
Race roller cams with high valve lift and
spring pressure are not recommended for
street use, because of a lack of oil splash
onto the cam at low speed running.
Springs must be assembled to the
manufacturer’s recommended height.
5. Mechanical Interference
This comes in a few different forms:
 Spring coil bind: This happens when all
the coils of a spring contact each other
before the valve fully lifts. Valve springs
should be capable of traveling at least
.060 inches more than the valve lift of
the cam from its assembled height.
 Retainer to seal/valve guide boss
interference: At least .060 inches
of clearance is required between the
bottom of the retainer and the seal or the
top of the valve guide when the valve is
at full lift.
 Valve to piston interference. This occurs
when a change in cam specs (lift,
duration, or centerline) is enough to
cause the valve and piston to contact.
Also, increased valve size or surfacing
the block and/or cylinder head may
cause this problem. Minimum
recommended clearances are .080-inch
intake and .100-inch exhaust.
 Rocker arm slot to stud interference. As
you increase valve lift, the rocker arm
swings farther on its axis. Therefore, the
slot in the bottom of the rocker arm may
run out of travel and the end of the slot
will contact the stud and stop movement.
The slot in the rocker arm must be able
to travel at least .060-inch more than the
full lift of the valve.
6. Excessive End Play
Some engines use a thrust plate to control
the forward and backward movement of
the camshaft in the block. The
recommended amount of end play on these
types of engines is between .003- to .008-
inches. Many factors can cause end play to
change. When installing a new cam, timing
gears, or thrust plates, be sure to verify end
play after the cam bolts are torqued to
factory specs. If the end play is excessive,
it will cause the cam to move back in the
block, causing the side of the lobe to
contact an adjacent lifter.
7. Broken Dowel Pins or Keys
The dowel pin or Woodruff key does not
drive the cam; the torque of the timing
gear bolts against the front of the cam
does. Reasons for the dowel pin or key
failing are: Bolts not being torqued to
correct specs, incorrect bolts of a lower
grade stretching and losing torque, not
using the correct hardened washer which
may distort and cause torque of the bolt to
change, LocTite not being used, or some
interference with the cam, lifters, or
connecting rods causing the cam to stop
rotation.
8. Broken Cam
A broken camshaft is usually caused by a
connecting rod or other rotating part
coming loose and striking it. Sometimes
the cam will break after a short time of use
because of a crack or fracture in the cam
due to rough handling during shipping or
improper handling prior to installation.
USES
Automotive
In internal combustion engines with
pistons, the camshaft is used to
operate poppet valves. It consists of a
cylindrical rod running the length of
the cylinder bank with a number of
oblong lobes protruding from it, one for
each valve. The cam lobes force the valves
open by pressing on the valve, or on some
intermediate mechanism, as they rotate.

Electrical
Before the advent of solid state
electronics, camshaft controllers were used
to control the speed of electric motors. A
camshaft, driven by an electric motor or
a pneumatic motor, was used to
operate contactors in sequence. By this
means, resistors or tap changers were
switched in or out of the circuit to vary the
speed of the main motor. This system was
mainly used in electric multiple
units and electric locomotives.[10]

Conclusion
Camshaft is one of the main and important
parts of an automotive engine which
controls and operates the valve train.